The Summer Heat
by Patrick the Stump
Summary: Scorpius is trying to get a certain redhead out of his system and Rose just wants to finish her darn book. Is the summer heat making everyone crazy?


**A/N:** Hello, how are you? Well, this is for **greenschist**'s 'Baby it's Hot Outside' challenge. It's also my way of redeeming Rose's character for myself, as I made a pretty crap job of portraying her last time and I've been avoiding her ever since.

I don't own anything Harry Potter related

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><p><span>The Summer Heat<span>

The Hogwarts grounds were sweltering hot, and the students were taking advantage of the rare appearance of the sun to trap a little Vitamin D. The castle was empty, but the grounds were swarming with teenagers. Rose sat down under the shade of a large sycamore tree, just beside the lake.

"Aren't you coming swimming?" asked Dylan Finnegan, a burly, sandy haired boy who turned and noticed Rose on the floor. All of her friends were in the water, splashing and screeching with delight.

"No, thank you," smiled Rose, her head buried in her bag, searching for something. She pulled out a slightly dishevelled looking book, and continued, "I really want to finish this." Dylan glanced at the book she was holding, a silly teenaged romantic novel, Rose's favourite.

Rose opened the book and Dylan walked away. He knew Rose loved books, and he really couldn't be bothered to compete with them for her attention that morning.

Scorpius sat by the edge of the lake, absentmindedly watching Rose read. He couldn't deny the fact that he was attracted to her. She was alien to him, strange and wonderful and completely unpredictable. Scorpius was fascinated by her. He watched her a lot, most of the time without even realising it, and he'd began to notice things about her. Like the way her red waves just tickled her ivory chest when she bowed her head to read, and the way her lips formed a secret little smile every time she opened one of her precious books. He thought it might have been the same smile as the one she always gave him after they argued. They argued a lot, though most of the time it was just sharp, witty remarks and empty threats. They argued, they talked, and sometimes they flirted, but that was about as far anything had ever gone between them.

Rose always seemed to be too preoccupied with something else to pay much attention to Scorpius. Usually it was homework or books, but lately it had been Dylan Finnegan. Scorpius didn't like it. Of course, Rose could date whoever she wanted. Well, anyone she wanted, as long as it was Scorpius. But unlike every other living, breathing female at Hogwarts, Rose didn't seem to be all that interested in the blonde Slytherin. He could get any other girl in the school, and he knew it. He wasn't being bigheaded, no, it was a fact. A fact that was at that very moment being proven to be true by the gaggle of girls standing opposite him, sending embarrassed looks his way every few seconds. Rose didn't look at him. Not once. Half the castle could have fell down and Rose wouldn't have even dared to tear her eyes away from the pages in front of her.

"Just go talk to her," said Leo Flint, sounding annoyed.

"Nah, she's busy," said Scorpius, still looking at Rose.

"She's always busy, but I'm getting bloody sick of you pining after her like some lost puppy. Where's that Malfoy swagger, eh? Just get whatever it is out of your system." It was only when Leo began to pelt him with chocolate frogs, that Scorpius finally hauled himself to his feet. Leo was right, where was the Malfoy swagger? The only reason Scorpius was into Rose was probably due to the fact that Rose wasn't into Scorpius. It was just this weird man-pride thing that came with being the hottest guy in the school, that was all. He needed to make Rose want him, just to prove to himself that he could. The only problem was, he already knew he was lying to himself.

Rose was so involved in her book, that she didn't even notice Malfoy until he was right in front of her.

"Hey, Rose," said Scorpius, sitting down next to her with a muffled thud.

"Hello, Malfoy," Rose bit her lip. She didn't seem to be able to concentrate with him sat, shirtless, right beside her. She wasn't particularly fond of the effect Scorpius was having on her, especially as it was stopping her from finding out if her newest fictional love interest would kiss the annoyingly perfect heroine and live happily ever after forever and ever.

Rose sighed and lowered her book, "Is there anything I can do for you?"

She looked at him, and looked away quickly again. She didn't feel comfortable making eye contact with him, especially not when he looked so darn good. His skin was sun kissed and his hair was tousled and messy from some imaginary wind. The blazing sun was nesting in his hair, causing each individual strand to sparkle with a different shade of blonde. Rose was only just beginning to understand the intense fascination that most girls had with him.

"What you doing?" Scorpius asked her, a look of genuine interest on his face.

"I was trying to read," Rose often got snappy when she was flustered.

"Urgh, no shit Sherlock," Scorpius smiled "_What_ are you reading?"

"Well, it's this book about a witch, and she's a total cow really. I'm only reading it because the leading guy, well, he's gorgeous - "

"Wait, how can a character in a book be gorgeous?" asked Scorpius, sounding a bit miffed.

" - Well anyway" Rose continued, ignoring his question "The girl gets kidnapped by this evil ghoul, who turns out to be the guy's mother. And then the guy saves the girl, but it turns out that the girl was really half a vampire and she's really all evil and stuff and now the guy has to decide if he still wants her or not - "

Scorpius prised the book out of her hands and turned it over a few times, Rose's face turning indignant and then suddenly murderous.

Scorpius stared at the page before him, beginning to laugh. For inside the pages of the book there was a folded up, re-seized but nonetheless glossy copy of witch-weekly.

"Rose Weasley," Scorpius was still laughing, "Who'd ever have thought that the smart-ass, Ravenclaw bookworm would secretly be hiding trashy tabloids inside the sacred pages of a book!"

Rose blushed the signature Weasley red.

"I _was_ reading the book," she told him, giggling herself now, "But there's only so much I can take! My brain was about to spew word-vomit, so I stopped for a bit of a girly break."

Scorpius shook his head, skimming through the silly, so un-Rose-ish captions above columns about boys and shoes and makeup.

"Anyway, give me it back," she went to grab the book, but Scorpius pulled it away at the last second.

"Err, no," said Scorpius mischievously.

"What do you mean, no?" shouted Rose, as Scorpius began to walk briskly away from the tree with a wide smile on his face.

Rose stood up and jogged towards him. Scorpius' long legs seemed to stretch twice as far as hers.

"Give me my book back!" she yelled again, hitting him with her bag. He broke off into a run and sprinted off behind the greenhouses. Rose followed him round a corner and rejoiced a little inside as she saw he'd reached a dead end. He was backing slowly against the wall, his smirk faltering.

He held the book straight up above his head. Rose wasn't short, but she was nowhere near as tall as Malfoy and hadn't a hope in hell of reaching it from where she was.

It was only when she took another step towards him and was in the middle of stretching for the book in his hands, that she realised she was so close to him.

Scorpius had been aware of that far before Rose had. By that point, he felt as if every single cell of her body was pressed against him. She was so close now, with the sun still lingering on her shoulders and chest, that it was driving him insane.

They both stood there for indefinite amount of time, arms forgotton, still raised above their heads. Rose looked down quickly, her cheeks glowing pink from embarrassment and the sun. She slowly lowered her arms. One of her hands brushed Scorpius' skin softly, and that's when he lost it. He grabbed her so quickly and so tightly that he heard Rose gasp, but the noise was instantly swallowed by his lips.

Rose's hands were around his neck in a flash, and Scorpius groaned slightly as she interlaced her fingers into his messy hair. This kiss was strangely different to every other he'd experienced. He was usually skilled and tactical, just like he was on the quiddich pitch. He knew exactly how to make girls want him, to make them do as he said and give him what he wanted. With Rose, it was different. With Rose, he hadn't a clue how to react. He felt her fingers tracing the spine of his bare back, and his heart picked up and he felt giddy and excited. He was reduced to that fumbling, embarrassed nervous wreck he'd been in third year when he'd kissed someone for the first time.

Rose felt Scorpius' hands on her back and in her hair and on her waist. Constantly moving, searching her body. She felt his lips burning hers, moving in sync with her own. She felt dizzy and euphoric and terrified all at the same time. She'd kissed Finnegan before, only once, but it certainly hadn't been like this.

Slowly, their kiss became slower, Malfoy's hands less panicked and Rose slowly pulled away, looking down again.

Scorpius pulled Rose to his chest, one hand still entwined in her read hair. He glanced down at her and a small smile played on his lips. It may have just been the summer heat that had him thinking so crazily, but somehow he knew that he'd never be able to get Rose Weasley out of his system, even if he'd wanted to.

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><p><strong>AN**: Ooh, I really enjoyed writing that. I've missed Rose and Scorpius so much! I doubt I'll continue this oneshot, but I might think about starting a new multi chapter fic about Rose after I've finished Snitches, Witches and Boystealing Bitches. I like this Rose a lot better than the last one I wrote. What do you all think? I'd love a review, just to let me know what you're thinking and what I should do.

Is anyone else keeping the Pottermore countdown clock up on a separate tab all the time? No, just me? It doesn't matter anyway, as I'll be sat in my R.E class when whatever it is gets announced.


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